Bee-feeder.



No. 821,246. PATENTED MAY 22, 1906.

M. KEGERREIS. BEE FEEDER.

APPLIUATION FILED D30. 2. 1906. I

A I l a 9 4 7 d I gilllllllllllll fgi WITNESSES." [5 ,5 40 6 .1 1/ [fiMICHAEL KEGERREIS, OF LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA.

BEE-FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 4.1905. Serial No. 290,272.

Patented May 22, 1906.

T0 alt whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL KEGERREIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lebanon, in the county of Lebanon and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Bee-Feeder, of which the following is aspecification. 1

This invention relates to the art of bee culture, and has for its objectto enable the con venient and satisfactory feeding and watering of beeswhich are wintered in a cellar or other inclosure.

Ordinarily bees which are wintered in a cellar or other inclosure leavethe cellar to obtain water and in the majority of cases never return tothe hives, as they become lost, frozen, or otherwise killed or seekother hives, whereby a considerable loss is entailed." I propose toovercome this difficulty by the provision of a feeder which may beconveniently supplied with sweetened water or the like and which isconstructed for convenient access by the bees. Moreover, provision ismade for conveniently closing the feeder against the bees in order thatthe attendant may examine the interior of the feeder for removing suchbees as may have become drowned orotherwise lodged in the feeder.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accomp anying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present feederwith the lid elevated to disclose the interior of the'device. Fig. 2 isa fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the feeder supported uponthe top of a hive in its operative position. Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing the entrance-opening of the feeder closed.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of thefigures of the drawings. a

The present feeder includes a body or receptacle 1, which is in thenature of an oblong wooden box of suitable proportions having its bottomdivided into half-sections 2 and 3, i

which have their outer ends elevated and therefore incline downwardlyand inwardly toward the middle of the box, where they are separated byan interspace 4 in the nature of a slot extending transversely acrossthe bottom of the box. Rising from the inner end of each bottom sectionis a partition 5, which terminates short of the top of the box, thespace between the two partitions constituting a passage leading from thebottom to the top of the box. At the inner side of each partition 5there is another vertical transverse partition 6, which extends the fullwidth of the box and rises to the top thereof, there being a space 7between the bottom of the box and the bottom of the partition to form acommunicating passage between the relatively small feed-chamberSbetweenadjacent partitions 5 and 6 and the supply chamber or compartment 9. Theopen top of the box is normally closed by a cover 10, which fits withinthe top of the box and rests upon the tops of the partitions 6.Transverse cleats 11 are secured to the top of the cover adjacent itsends and serve as handles for convenience in lifting the cover from thereceptacle.

In practice each compartment 9 is supplied with a suitable quantity ofsweetened water, which runs through the passage 7 and rises into thecompartment 8. The cover is of course closed and rests upon the tops ofthe partitions 6, so as to prevent access from the compartment 8 intothe compartment 9 across the tops of the partitions 6. The feed er isthen placed upon the top of a hive, a fragmentary top portion of aconventional form of which has been shown at 12 in Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawings, care being taken to center the entrance-opening 4 in thebottom of the feeder over the exit-opening 13 in the top of the hive. Itis desired to have a slight space between the hive and the bottom of thefeeder, and therefore a spacing-strip 14 is interposed between the topof the hive and each end of the bottom of the feeder. When the feeder isthus set up, bees are enabled to pass upwardly through the opening 4 andthe space between the partitions 5, and thereby have access to thesweetened water in the compartments 8. After having procured the desiredamount of food the bees can return to the hive and therefore are notliable to seek water out of doors.

When it is desired to inspect the interior of thefeeder, particularlyfor removing drowned bees or such as may have become lodged in thefeeding-compartment, the lid or cover 10 is removed and placed on endwith one end tending from the top of the receptacle and terminatingshort of the bottom thereof, and trance-passage between the partitions5, as aremovable cover for the receptacle provided 30 shown in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings, one of the with a transverse cleat carried by one end 5partitions 5 being rabbeted or shouldered, j portion of the cover andcapable of being as at 15, to form a seat for the reception of j thrustwith the cover into the open inner end the cleat 11, while the top liesagainst one of the passage leading from the entranceface of the otherpartition, whereby the enopening. trance-passage is closed. When theentrance- 2. A bee-feeder having an entrance-openro passage has thusbeen closed, no more bees ing in the bottom thereof, partitions risingat can have access to the feeder, wherefore it is opposite sides of theopening, one of the parperfectly safe to examine the feeder andretitions having a shoulder upon its inner side move drowned bees fromthe feeding-comadjacent its top, anda removable cover hay-11o partment.j ing a transverse cleat adjacent one end there- 15 From the foregoingdescriptionit will be un of, said cover capable of having one end andadjacent cleat 11 thrust into the en derstood that the device of thepresent inthrust between the tops of the partitions with vention isexceedingly simple and effective the cleat resting upon the shoulder ofone of for the purpose designed and may be used the partitions to closethe space between said 45 Without changing or preparing the hives.partitions. l 20 Having thus described the invention, what In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as is claimed is my own I have hereto afliXedmy signature in 1. A bee-feeder comprising a receptacle the presence oftwo witnesses.

havin an GIllDILIlCG-OPGIHH in the bottom there f, partitions rising from the bottom of MICHAEL KEGERREIS' 25 the receptacle at opposite sidesof the en- Witnesses:

trance-opening and terminating short ofthe IsAM MILLER, top of thereceptacle, other partitions eX- WM. CORL.

